Battle of New Britain

Maps

• 

  Huon Peninsula and the Straits

• 

  Western New Britain

• 

  Backhander Staging Area - New Britain - New Guinea

• 

  Japanese Ground Dispositions - 30 November 1943

• 

  Arawe Landings

• 

  Position of the First Marine Division

• 

  Seizure und defence of the airdrome

• 

  Suicide Creek to Hill 660

• 

  Japanese Withdrawal Routes in West New Britain

Operation Dexterity

• 

  Lieutenant General Yasushi Sakai, commanding general of the 17th Division, maintained his headquarters at Cape Hoskins

• 

  During the planning of the New Britain operation - left to right: Lieutenant General Walter Krueger, Major General Rupertus, General Douglas MacArthur

• 

  Lieutenant General Walter Krueger, Commanding General, U.S. Sixth Army (left), General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander, Allied Forces, Southwest Pacific Area, and General George C. Marshall, Chief of Staff, U.S. Army (right), at a field headquarters in the Southwest Pacific Area, late 1943

• 

  General Krueger with Alamo scouts

• 

  Major General Schmidt greets General Walter Krueger, Commanding General, U.S. Sixth Army, during one of the latter's many visits to the Corps headquarters at Sasebo

• 

  PT's patrolling off coast of New Guinea, 1943

• 

  A PT marksman provides a striking camera study as he draws a bead with his 50 caliber machine gun on his boat off New Guinea. July 1943

• 

  An aerial view of the airdrome area, looking southeast. Strip No. 2 is in the background and Razorback Ridge is beyond it to the right

• 

  Cape Gloucester airdrome as a Liberator saw it during pre-invasion bombing. Strip No. 1 to the left of the stream is barely discernible

• 

  Cape Gloucester airdrome strip No. 2 gets the softening treatment during the preparatory stage of the New Britain campaign

• 

  Troopers of the 112th Cavalry wade ashore at Arawe as Marine LVTs carry in supplies on 15 December 1943 - Operation Dexterity

• 

  US-Troops on their way to Cap Gloucester, Dec. 1943

• 

  USS Phoenix (CL-46) firing her 6"/47 guns during the pre-invasion bombardment of Cape Gloucester, New Britain, circa 24-26 December 1943

• 

  HMAS Australia and HMAS Arunta bombarding Cape Gloucester viewed from HMAS Shropshire on 26 December 1943

• 

  Invasion of Cape Gloucester, New Britain, 24 Dec. 1943. Crammed with men and material for the invasion, this Coast Guard- manned LST nears the Japanese held shore. Troops shown in the picture are Marines.

• 

  LCIs moving to Cape Gloucester as smoke screens Target Hill and spreads along the beaches

• 

  LST beaching at Cap Gloucester, Dec. 1943

• 

  Marines hit three feet of rough water as they leave their LST to take the beach at Cape Gloucester, New Britain. December 26, 1943

• 

  Movin off the ramp of a Coast Guard-manned landing craft, Marines move ashore on D-Day at Cape Gloucester - Operation Dexterity

• 

  Shore Party Marines struggle to build a sandbag ramp for LSTs in the surf at Cape Gloucester's Yellow Beaches - Operation Dexterity

• 

  Marines pull a Jeep ashore from an LST that had to be unloaded before a causeway could be prepared, circa late-December 1943. In background is USS LST-67

• 

  The USS LST-66 disembarks troops during the invasion of Cape Gloucester

• 

  LVT in mud at Cape Gloucester

• 

  Retreating at first into the jungle of Cape Gloucester, Japanese soldiers finally gathered strength and counterattacked their Marine pursuers. These machine gunners pushed them back. January 1944

• 

  Lieutenant Colonel John Weber, commanding officer of a Marine battalion on Cape Gloucester, sitting on his helmet, receives a report from one of his company commanders., 01/1944

• 

  105mm Howitzers of 4/11, set up in a kunai grass clearing, fire in support of Marines attacking toward Cape Gloucester's airfields - Operation Dexterity

• 

  Marine mortar in action. Supporting the attack on Cape Gloucester, Marine mortarmen behind their riflemen buddies, form a bucket brigade line to pass the ammunition as they fire into Japanese positions with their 81mm mortar

• 

  Marines in General Sherman tanks roll along the beach of New Britain island shortly after the first wave of Leathernecks hit the beach to drive the Japanese into the jungle beyond the strategic airport at Cape Gloucester. At the left is a bow of a landing barge

• 

  After a battle between the Marines and Japanese, a tank moves in to see the results on Cape Gloucester. In this same hollow a very bloody battle raged for four days

• 

  Tanks and men are heading for the Cape Gloucester airdrome. The tanks protected the infantry and the infantry protected the tanks as the 1st Marines kept the airdrome drive going

• 

  After 23 days of combat, men are foot sore and weary after fighting in the rain and mud. These Marines trek for a less active area on Cape Gloucester as a Jeep hauls one of their smaller field pieces. It was hell on earth in the front lines but more so for the Japanese than the Marines

• 

  A japanese soldier in a burrow - Corporal Shigeto literally had to be dug out of his position in the jungle of Cape Gloucester

• 

  Medium tank crosses Suicide Creek to blast Japanese emplacements holding up the Marine advance - Operation Dexterity

• 

  Japanese flags are displayed by the weary Marines who captured them, as elements of Combat Team C leave the front lines after 23 days of fighting - Operation Dexterity